


What’s In a Name

by the_og_straya



Series: The Peter Parker Files [7]
Category: Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Fluff, Friendship, Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, Harley Keener Calls Tony Stark “Dad”, Harley Keener is a little shit, Language, Minor Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Trans Harley Keener, Trans Male Character, Trans Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:28:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29156598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_og_straya/pseuds/the_og_straya
Summary: 3 times Peter calls Tony something other than Mr. Stark.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The Peter Parker Files [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925104
Comments: 22
Kudos: 271





	What’s In a Name

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am, not dead! And for all of you wondering, I’m working on Push Back the Dark again!! There should be a new chapter up sometime this week, if everything goes as planned!

1.

“Draw four,” Pepper announced with a small smile playing on her lips, looking at Tony. “And I’m thinking... green.”

“Goddamnit,” he muttered, drawing the required four, then drawing until he finally uttered an, “Aha!” and triumphantly set down a green eight.

Peter had never more wanted to change the way they were playing. They chose the “hardcore” mode, as Tony called it, instead of the “normal” mode, in which you would simply draw a card and skip your turn. Tony now held roughly half the deck in his hands, and Peter imagined it couldn’t be good for him next go around. He carefully plucked a blue eight from his own hand, placing it onto the pile, and Pepper gave him a small smile as she put down a blue four.

With a surge of fear usually reserved for a tough opponent in a fight, Peter suddenly realized why Pepper was the CEO of Stark Industries. If Tony had most of the cards, that also meant he had most of the reverses, skips, and draw twos and fours.

He gulped as Tony plucked a card and nonchalantly placed it onto the pile. “Draw two,” he said, with a seemingly sympathetic smile. Peter didn’t believe it for a minute.

He kept his eyes on Tony and watched incredulously as the man managed to rid himself of the cards he had amassed. Finally, he was on his last two. He placed one down—this time a normal five—and said the fated word. “Uno.”

Peter swore underneath his breath and attempted to figure out how to make Pepper give Tony a bad card, or even a reverse card, since then Peter could do it directly.

He saw no options and his blood ran cold as he placed down a four of the same color, Pepper putting down an exact match.

Tony grinned at Peter before tossing down his last card, a draw-four wild card. “Green,” he said smugly, clasping his hands in front of him.

Peter sighed and tossed down his cards, looking Tony right in the eye. “What the _fuck_ , Anthony.”

Tony froze as Pepper practically fell over from the force of her laughter.

Eventually, Tony grinned at Peter. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

Peter’s grin grew until it matched Tony’s. “No. I’m an orphan.”

“Goddamnit, kid,” Tony laughed. “Alright, that’s it. Go get Sorry, we’re playing that next.”

* * *

* * *

2.

It wasn’t all that bad. Not usually. Usually he could get by, could pretend, could hold himself together long enough.

He thought he was doing well, this time. Sure, he was sitting on the couch not really interacting, but he could blame that on being tired. Because he was tired.

Tony came over eventually and sat next to him. “Hey, bambino, what gives?”

“What?”

Tony spread his arms to encompass the room. “You’re usually bouncing off the walls. Are you feeling okay?” He tried to put his hand on Peter’s forehead, to check his temperature, but Peter knocked it away. “I’m fine. Just tired, I guess.”

“You guess?” Tony raised a brow, then shrugged when Peter didn’t say anything else. “Alright. Well if you’re tired, then c’mere. Keep me occupied so Barton doesn’t corner me about new arrows again.” He lifted his arm, and Peter chuckled as he moved over.

“You love it.”

“I tolerate it,” Tony tried to correct, as if everyone didn’t already know the truth anyways. “Go to sleep, Peter.”

Peter yawned and curled in closer. He hadn’t been sure at first that he’d sleep, but Tony was comfortable, and Peter was more tired than he’d originally thought. Soon enough he was in that weird half-asleep phase, where he could wake up if he wanted to, or he could fall asleep if he wanted to.

He chose the latter.

What seemed like not five minutes later, Tony gently shook him. “Hey, kiddo, time for bed, m’kay? I’m not as young as I used to be and I can’t carry you.”

Peter groaned and curled into Tony more. “Five m’re m’nutes.”

Tony chuckled and petted his hair. “C’mon, Peter, just stand up for me. You don’t even have to open your eyes.”

Peter circled his arms around Tony’s waist, securing himself, and mumbled something. He wasn’t even sure what, which means there’s no logical way Tony should’ve been able to correctly interpret it.

He did, though, and kept a hand on Peter’s back as he stood them up, securing the teen to him as he began to walk to the elevators.

Peter was still so tired, so out of it, that he didn’t even hear Tony address Friday, didn’t notice the elevator moving.

Finally Tony got him into his room and into bed, and Peter curled into the pillows and blankets and hummed. “Th’nks, ‘ncle Ben.”

A beat of silence, then a whispered, “You’re welcome, Peter.”

* * *

The next morning, Tony smiled at Peter as he walked into the common floor’s kitchen. “Hey, kiddo. How’d you sleep?”

Peter, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, yawned and nodded, turning to the pantry. He froze when Tony spoke.

“There’s, uh, actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Peter swallowed and turned around, facing Tony, who saw his face and blanched. “You’re not in trouble! There’s nothing wrong, you didn’t do anything wrong. I swear.”

“Okay,” Peter said slowly. “What is it, then?”

Tony sighed and grabbed his mug, placing it under the Keurig’s spout. “Last night... do you remember falling asleep on me?”

Peter thought about it, then shrugged. “Kinda.”

“Okay. Well you did, and I brought you up to bed. You were still pretty out of it,” he grinned, then abruptly sobered. “When I got you into bed, you said, ‘thanks, Uncle Ben.’” He let the words sink in. “I don’t want to make you do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he said quietly. “But I do realize how close we’ve gotten and how much it’s turned from a mentor-mentee relationship to something more... familial. I just want you to know I’m not trying to take the place of Ben. I know how much he meant to you. But I’m willing to be whatever you need me to be.”

Peter nodded and bit his lip. “You... you call me bambino. What does that mean?”

Tony shrugged.”It’s just a general term of endearment. It means kid.”

Peter nodded. “I don’t want to put any pressure on you. And you’ll never be Uncle Ben.”

“I don’t want to be!” Tony assured him.

“I know. Thank you. But... I don’t know. I might not be opposed to you being my father figure.”

Tony grinned. “What, like wearing socks and sandals? Going and getting the paper in a t-shirt and boxer shorts? Dropping you off at school with a ‘Have a nice day!’ and a dad pun?”

Peter laughed. “No! God, please, no. Besides maybe the last one, but without the dad jokes.”

Tony grinned. “Nope, sorry, I’m your dad now, no take-backs.”

Peter just laughed and flicked a corn flake at Tony’s head. “Fine, Dad,” he teased, and they both smiled at each other.

* * *

* * *

3.

“Hey, kiddo,” Tony called as soon as Peter entered the lab, the doors sliding shut behind him. “Toss your backpack and come over here, I’ve got some news.”

“Yeah?” Peter asked, putting his backpack at his desk and walking over to Tony’s, where the man was bent over a project, muttering to himself. Peter took a look and grinned, grabbing the wrench for Tony before he asked for it.

“ _Perfetto_ ,” he mumbled. “ _Grazie_.”

Peter chuckled. “You wanted to talk?”

“ _Sì, sì_.” He straightened and seemed to shake himself, blinking back into the present. He took a breath and stretched, then looked at Peter. “Snack?”

Peter chuckled. “Sure. What’d you want to talk to me about?”

“You know that time a few years ago when I fought Whiplash?”

Peter nodded. “It was all over the news.”

“Yeah. Remember when I kinda disappeared for a few days, mid-fight?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. I kinda crash-landed in Tennessee.”

“Oh. Wow.”

Tony chuckled. “Not very fun. I wouldn’t recommend it. But I kind of... borrowed. Some things. From a garage.”

Peter chuckled. “So you broke into a random garage and started using their stuff.”

“I didn’t break into it. The door was unlocked. But yes. This kid comes in, he’s probably your age now, so however old you were when that happened.”

“Twelve,” Peter supplied, and Tony nodded.

“Okay, so twelve. He comes in and beans me with a potato gun.”

Peter laughed. “That sounds amazing. What I’d give to be a fly on that wall.”

“Well, the kid—his name’s Harley—he’s coming up to visit. It was only decided a few days ago, and he should be arriving sometime tonight.”

“Okay. So, do you want to spend some time alone with him?”

“What? No, Peter, I want you to meet him. Besides, he doesn’t have school right now, so when you go back on Monday, it’ll just be me and him.”

“Oh.” He started to grin. “Okay, cool.”

Tony checked his watch. “He’s saying six p.m., but knowing him, he’ll be here by five or five-thirty. That gives us a few hours of uninterrupted lab time, if you’re interested.”

Peter just grinned at him as he threw his apple core in the trash. “Definitely.”

* * *

“Peter, Harley... Harley, Peter. There, introduced. You two get to know each other while I make dinner.”

Peter perked up. “Are you making spaghetti?”

Tony chuckled, “With the sauce, yeah.”

“Yes!” Peter fist-pumped the air as Harley grinned at him. “It’s the best pasta, seriously.”

“The pasta’s boxed, bambino, you’re tasting the sauce,” Tony called from the kitchen, and Peter shrugged.

“Still the best spaghetti. Anyways, hi, I’m Peter.”

“Harley.” He grinned at Peter again. “How long have you known him?”

Peter shrugged, “A few years. Like, three? Maybe? How about you?”

Harley copied the movement. “On and off for about five years.”

Peter motioned for him to follow down to the lab. “Mr. Stark says we’re about the same age. How old are you?”

“Seventeen, but I’ll be eighteen in April.”

Peter nodded. “I’m seventeen too! But I’ll be eighteen in August.”

Harley snickered. “And you call him Mr. Stark?”

Peter frowned. “What do you call him?”

Harley smirked, “Mostly old man. We have an understanding.”

Peter raised his brows. “An understanding?”

“Yeah. He talks shit about me, so I get to talk shit about him, since he’s not my actual dad. Though I talk shit about my actual dad, too. It’s taking him an awful long time to get those lottery tickets.” He grinned at the other teen, who raised an eyebrow again. “Like ten years. It’s almost like he doesn’t wanna come back.”

Peter snorted. “Nah, that can’t be it. Maybe he’s buying milk too.”

“And all the groceries, probably, right?” Harley grinned at Peter. “I like you. You’re one of the first people who hasn’t apologized.”

Peter shrugged. “I had parents at one point. They died, so then I went to live with my aunt and uncle, but then my uncle died, so now I’m just living with my aunt. And kinda with Mr. Stark.”

Harley snorted. “Kinda? How’s that work, they got joint custody?”

Peter chuckled, “You’re not that far off. My aunt tries her best but she’s not paid enough for two people to live in New York on one salary, so on the weekends I live with Mr. Stark, and we work in the labs. I come over every Friday after school and stay until Monday, when Happy takes me to school. I’ve got a room here and everything. Plus it helps my aunt on the food bill.”

Harley frowned. “Not all that much though, right? I mean, yeah, you’re a guy teenager, we’re basically Zac Efron in _17 Again_ , but you don’t eat all that much, do you?”

Peter just grinned as he walked over to his station in the lab. “You heard of Oscorp?”

“The tech company? Of course, who hasn’t?”

“Remember that one time a school field trip happened on the same day someone went somewhere they weren’t supposed to and all the spiders got loose?”

“Yeah, that was all over the news. What of it?”

Peter just grinned wider. “Karen? Let’s show him.”

“On the ceiling, boss?”

“Where else?”

“Initiating Mmm Whatcha Say Protocol.”

Peter backed up several steps, then leaped into the air, caught Droney, slammed it onto his chest, and landed on the ceiling on his feet in his full Spider-Man suit.

“Well,” Harley said. “I guess that explains it.”

Peter laughed and released himself from the ceiling, rotating in midair to land on the ground facing Harley. He retracted the mask and grinned at him. “I’m guessing you can imagine what it does to my metabolism.”

“Definitely,” Harley nodded, stepping back and looking Peter up and down. He frowned slightly. “Turn to the side?” Peter frowned, too, but did as he asked. Harley nodded. “I’d suggest talking to Stark about hiding the binder, but it looks good.” He smirked at Peter, who gaped at him. He blinked. “Oh. Insensitive, right? Sorry. I’m not too great at that when I’ve got the same issues.”

Peter blinked a few times. “No... no, it’s fine. I mean... well, you know how it is, I guess, except there’s this one kid at school who’s chosen to specifically bully me, and it’s not limited to nerdy things, like all the other bullies had.”

Harley raised a brow. “Does the old man know about this?”

Peter shrugged. “I mean, I can deal with it. He’s a big Spider-Man fan too, and I’m considering making a Twitter account for him, basically so I can call him out.”

Harley burst out laughing. “I’ll help. This is gonna be the best thing ever.”

Peter chuckled. “I’ve still gotta get it approved by Ms. Potts, you know. She signs off on all of that stuff.”

Harley chuckled. “You call her Ms. Potts?”

Peter raised a brow in challenge. “What do you call her?”

Harley shrugged. “I don’t really talk to her, but probably ma’am or miss.”

Peter sighed. “Easy for you, you’ve got that cute Southern accent. I don’t.”

Harley grinned. “You think I’m cute?”

Peter looked him up and down, then gave him a look, like he was disappointed in Harley for even asking the question in the first place. He grinned at the blush growing on Harley’s cheeks, then tapped Droney to disengage the suit. He tossed it back up to the ceiling with a, “Thanks, Karen,” then frowned slightly at Harley. “What?”

“Karen,” Harley parroted. “I know that name.” A grin began to grow. “I remember that name from a very specific TV show.”

Peter began to laugh. “Okay, yes, I named her after Plankton’s wife, are you happy?”

Harley shrugged and picked up a wrench, playing with it for a second but putting it back down. “Okay, I’m still on this. Why do you call him Mr. Stark again?”

Peter chuckled, “I dunno. He’s always trying to get me to call him Tony, but at this point it’s something that annoys him, so that’s part of the reason. But really I started because at first, I was just his intern. It was appropriate for me to call him Mr. Stark. Then as we got to know each other better, I just kinda never stopped. He got annoyed and then it turned into something I tease him with.” He chuckled. “There was one time he begged me to call him anything else, just stop calling him Mr. Stark. So I said okay, if you can make this paper in that basket, I’ll stop calling you Mr. Stark.”

Harley raised a brow. “He missed?”

“No, actually, he made it.” Peter’s grin grew. “So I called him Dr. Stark.”

Harley stared at him for a beat before laughing. “That’s diabolical. I’m using that from now on. How much did he hate that?”

Peter shook his head gleefully. “So much. So, so much.”

Harley laughed. “How long did you manage to call him that?”

“I stopped practically immediately after. I was laughing too hard.”

Harley snorted. “I bet. So why do you still call him Mr. Stark? I mean, it’s not like you don’t see how it is.”

Peter frowned. “How it is? What do you mean?”

Harley stared at him for a beat before chuckling. “Oh my god, you’re serious. He literally calls you kid.”

Peter shrugged, “Yeah, he’s always called me kid.”

“But has he always called you kid in Italian? Come on, you know how the romance languages work, you know it’s more of a term of endearment.”

Peter shrugged again. “I guess I hadn’t really thought about it.”

Harley cocked his head to the side. “How do you see him? I mean, is he still just a mentor?”

“I mean, no? But I can’t just start calling him ‘Dad,’ you know what I mean?”

Harley grinned. “Why not?”

“I-” he frowned. “I dunno. I just can’t, not out of the blue like that.”

“Not even if he’ll like it?” He raised a challenging eyebrow as Peter considered it. “Here, what if we both do it? He’ll think it’s a joke at first, but if he’s not used to it by Monday...”

Peter nodded. “Alright, sure. But will you keep doing it? Or will you go back to calling him old man?”

“Who says I can’t do both?” He smirked, and Peter grinned.

“Let the names begin.”

* * *

They planned it out perfectly, but Peter didn’t put too much stock in it; plans tended to go awry with him around. They eventually made their way back upstairs, laughing and pushing at each other, and Tony grinned at them as they came in. “I knew you’d get along, but I’m a little worried at how well you’re getting along.”

Harley waved him off with a grin, grabbing a plate. “Don’t worry about us, old man.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Peter said, then caught Harley’s eye and collapsed in giggles.

Tony raised his brows at them, but smiled. “So what did you two discuss in the lab?”

“Dad,” Harley said seriously, “we’re gay. We talked about everything.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “I showed him my suit.”

“Which is super cool, by the way.”

Tony chuckled. “He designed it.”

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, but you helped make it and you looked at my design after and helped me edit it.”

“You still designed it, kiddo. Take the compliment.”

Peter shrugged and hopped up to get a drink. Tony turned to Harley as soon as he was gone. “I know this is your doing.”

“What’s my doing?”

Tony leveled him with a look. “I’ve spent years, at this point, trying to get him to call me anything other than Mr. Stark. Then you get here, and an hour later you’re both calling me Dad.”

Harley just shrugged and looked away. “You can’t tell me you don’t appreciate it.”

Tony chuckled and sighed. “No, you’re right. But I don’t want him doing it because I like it.”

Harley blinked. “Are you kidding me? I spent twenty minutes convincing him that you’d like it. He didn’t want to because he wasn’t sure you’d like it. If he doesn’t keep this up after I’m gone...” Harley shook his head. “Look, you’re welcome I’m here.”

Tony faux-glared at him. “Insufferable.”

Harley pouted at him. “But we’re connected.”

Tony pouted back. “We’re connected,” he teased, flicking a piece of pasta at Harley, who yelped as it hit his face. They both burst out laughing.

Peter frowned as he approached. “What did I miss? And why is there tomato sauce on your cheek?”

“Because Dad’s a jerk.” He scrubbed his cheek with his napkin.

Peter chuckled as he sat down. “You can say that again.”

“Hey!” Tony frowned. “No ganging up on your father!” He threw a piece of spaghetti at Peter, who caught it in his mouth and grinned at him. “Damn spider senses,” Tony grumbled. They both laughed at him, and looking at his boys, Tony smiled too.

**Author's Note:**

> If I forgot any tags please tell me, as I cannot title or tag. I hope you liked it! Comments inspire me to write more and kudos are great too! ❤️


End file.
